[Jessie Daniels]

Strength in Numbers Consulting Group seeks a Research Associate to work on qualitative projects, including research, evaluation and philanthropic strategy, primarily supporting qualitative research planning and implementation and analyzing qualitative data. The ideal candidate will also have an intermediate understanding of quantitative research. The position requires a high level of attention to detail.  Experience in Dedoose (qualitative software) and fluency in Spanish are both preferred qualities.

Who We Are: Strength in Numbers is an LGBTQ-led research and evaluation firm. We do community-based evaluation, research projects and philanthropic strategy. We pride ourselves on providing excellent mentorship, quality of life and stable and predictable working hours for all staff at all levels. Our practice includes collaborations with a wide variety of marginalized groups, particularly those with intersecting experiences of oppression (e.g., low-income youth of color, young children and ethnic minorities in the developing world, transgender women engaged in sex work). We are a diverse, collegial community.

• We serve organizations and programs designed to benefit LGBTQ+ people, people of color and other groups who experience marginalization and oppression

• We have a shared value for producing on-time and excellent work, while also recognizing people as people. In practice, what that means is that we have predictable, reasonable working hours, excellent benefits and strive to always ensure that our workplace is equitable, just and worker-focused.

• We value existing expertise and want to help grow the knowledge and skills evaluators bring in new and unexpected directions.

Our philosophy centers consultation with the groups affected by the social issues and social programs we research and evaluate. Community members have substantive input into our approach to projects, including helping to build research questions, selecting methods, and interpreting data. Our quantitative work is rigorous, and we are meticulous in assuring that findings are action-oriented and clearly expressed.

We are a small firm, and all consultants contribute to the running of the company and doing some administrative tasks.

Opportunity Statement: People of color, researchers with nontraditional backgrounds, immigrants, people with disabilities, people with diverse gender identities and expressions, people of all ages and others from marginalized groups are strongly encouraged to apply. We are very serious about hiring people who come from the communities we serve.

What We Are Looking For: We seek consultants who thrive working independently and bring confidence and maturity to their work. Position is located in downtown Brooklyn.

Primary Duties: Projects are assigned based on consultants’ strengths, experience and/or interest for work as part of an interdisciplinary team.

Qualitative Research Implementation and Analysis (70%) 

1. Writing summaries and conducting content analysis for interviews, focus groups and other qualitative data.
2. Arranging interviews and focus groups, including scheduling, ordering food, administering consent and collecting registration or demographic data
3. Helping to develop inductive and deductive coding schemes
4. Writing and editing reports for community members, program implementers, grantmakers and other audiences

Quantitative Research (15%)

1. Conducting univariate and bivariate analysis and basic data visualization (graphs etc.) in Stata and/or R
2. Checking the statistical work of other analysts
3. Assisting with recruitment for survey projects as requested

Project Management & Administration (15%) 

1. Schedule meetings and provide administrative support for relevant projects
2. Take excellent, action-oriented notes at meetings when required (this duty rotates)
3. Attend and participate enthusiastically in staff meetings
4. Be available and responsive to questions from staff and engaged in teaching other interested staff in qualitative skills
5. Conduct basic project management and conscientiously communicate about project processes, possible upcoming challenges and methods to overcome those challenges
6. Provide qualitative training and/or support to other members of the Strength in Numbers team, as appropriate for each project

Secondary Duties

1. Consult with a wide variety of stakeholders, including those with little formal education, about the direction of research.
2. Interpret findings and create high-impact, relevant recommendations for audiences such as program staff, policymakers, philanthropists and activists.
3. Prepare and/or present evaluation results in a manner that increases the likelihood that they will be used and accepted by a diverse group of stakeholders.

The employee will work approximately 9am-5pm on weekdays. This position is supervised by Erin Howe, who is a principal consultant and the lead on qualitative work and philanthropic strategy. There is a 90 day probationary period; however, benefits (including health insurance) begin on the first day of employment. This position is not appropriate for a fully remote employee.

Experience & Skills

Experience

1. 1-2 years of experience managing research projects and/or contributing as an active and integral part of a research team
2. Demonstrated experience and aptitude for qualitative coding
3. At least one year of experience in a non-research position related to activism or social services, preferably with one of the topics or populations of largest focus for the work of SiNCG (for example, an LGBTQ+ social service organization, a needle exchange, a program for low-income youth of color). This can be volunteer or paid work.  Academic projects do not substitute for applied experience except in rare circumstances where evaluations are of direct benefit to communities and involve meaningful community control over research questions and methods.
4. Master’s degree or higher preferred, in a social science with coursework and/or demonstrated ability and experience in public health, sociology, economics, implementation science, statistics or a related social science degree with demonstrated relevant qualitative research design and implementation coursework. We will consider candidates without a master’s or even without a 4-year bachelor’s degree but may ask them to demonstrate additional skills during the interview. This position is unlikely to be appropriate for someone with a PhD who plans a career in academic writing, as data are not available for peer reviewed publications.

Skills

1. Demonstrated ability to create realistic, workable project plans and meet deadlines in the context of multiple projects.
2. Demonstrated ability to summarize and code qualitative data.
3. Clear, concise and organized writer, capable of producing on-time and excellent reports.
4. Excellent listening skills, including interviewing or coaching people who are not comfortable with quantitative information to ascertain what they need as stakeholders in quantitative work.
5. Ability to project expertise and gravitas to a wide variety of audiences. Collegial and constructive in approach, especially when working with marginalized people and those trying to serve them.
6. Ability to work with people who have experienced oppression and trauma in respectful and effective ways and high level of comfort, competence and knowledge of LGBTQ+ communities and communities of color (e.g., ease in using nontraditional pronouns, understanding of what questions are appropriate to ask of community members with backgrounds different from yours in order to build rapport).
7. Demonstrated ability to find mistakes in one’s own and others’ work, including to ascertain and correct flaws in logic.
8. Optimistic and even-tempered, including during periods of intense work.

Preferred Skills and Experience:

1. Fluency in Spanish (or in another non-English language) preferred
2. Knowledge of Dedoose or a similar qualitative coding software
3. Knowledge of Qualtrics or similar survey data collection software
4. Knowledge of a programming language, particularly Stata or R
5. Experience with SalesForce and similar online databases
6. Additional research skills not listed here

How to Apply: Please submit the following to ehowe@sincg.com.

(1) A cover letter of no more than 3 pages addressing the following:

• Your background, work experience and how you meet the essential requirements of the job
• A description of how you demonstrate the attributes listed under other essential skills and, space permitting, other useful skills, experiences or approaches you would bring to Strength in Numbers
• Why you want to work at Strength in Numbers Consulting Group
• Names of 2 recommenders (please indicate if we should not call them without clearance, for example, if they are current employers)
• Salary requirements

(2) A CV or resume

(3) A writing sample demonstrating your ability to ask and answer a qualitative research question independently

There will be two phases of the application process: 

1. Applicants selected from the materials submitted in phase 1 will be invited to participate in a 30–45-minute Zoom interview screening. Applicants may also be asked to take a short screener test online on their own time (under 20 minutes).
2. Candidates advancing to the final stage of the interview process may also be asked to complete an additional skills test and interviews with the team. They may be invited to meet current staff and/or stakeholders of SiNCG projects.

Emails with questions prior to application are welcome; please attach a CV to these emails and we will answer them as soon as possible. The position will be open until filled; preference will be given to applicants who send in materials within the first 2 weeks of the search. All candidates will ultimately be notified of the outcome of the search.

Salary range:  $70,000-$80,000

Benefits:

• Employer-subsidized health, dental, and vision benefits effective the month following the hire date
• 10 paid holidays per calendar year
• 20 Vacation days
• 10 Sick days
• 3% match for retirement plan effective immediately

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